28 February 2011, 14:37
Mykola Tomenko, Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, calls for restricting immunity of the President, judges, and deputies as soon as possible to bring discipline in the state. The Deputy Chairman of the Parliament made this statement at the Conciliative Council on Monday.
M. Tomenko stressed that the idea of restricting immunity of the President, judges, and deputies is pressing. "We (opposition and coalition) should return to the introduction of amendments to the Constitution, and exert efforts to fight for justice, implementing the amendments", Tomenko emphasized. He reminded that the said issue had been supported both by the coalition and the opposition.
Discussing the procedure of such decision-making, the Deputy Chairman reminded that in October 2009 the Verkhovna Rada referred the bill on amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine regarding restriction of immunity of People´s Deputies, judges and the President to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. The decision was upheld by 390 votes of the Deputies of all factions. However, according to Mykola Tomenko, a group of experts concluded that the bill shall be rejected, as it amended the old Constitution. "We insist on confirming the vote and moving on", M. Tomenko announced.
The Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine stated that he treated the issue of bringing discipline in the Parliament with ‘cautious optimism´, although "the opposition tries to make the necessary steps towards preserving parliamentarism in the Verkhovna Rada."